


Day 8: Secret Santa

by Rellwen



Series: Advent Challenge 2015 [7]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers: Prime
Genre: Gen, Getting someone you don't want in secret santa, Knock Out is detirmined, Name Trading, Secret Santa, Soundwave is a Sneaky Bastard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-14
Updated: 2015-12-14
Packaged: 2018-05-06 18:13:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5426837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rellwen/pseuds/Rellwen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After hearing about the secret santa event on board the nemesis Knock Out decides to join in. He gets a complete stranger for his name and decides he really wants Breakdown's name. Desperate times call for desperate measures!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Day 8: Secret Santa

**Author's Note:**

> ALRIGHT, So I just want to say the actual gift giving will pop up in a later fic, so stay tuned for that. 
> 
> I wanted to try out a more compartmentalized story. I think I tend to add way too much length in transitions from one situation to the next. It kinda messes up the flow of my stories. I kinda like the way it turned out. Let me know how you like it!

 

These were the days Knock Out had to wonder about his priorities. Here he was trudging through knee deep organic sludge.The sun beat down through the sparse trees heating the marshy terrain. It was so hot and humid and the very air felt slimy on his plating. Every step made a horrible slurping noise as the muck suctioned around his pedes. It was going to be murder to try and get the swarms of diminutive earth insects out of his gears.

 

A little light blinked merrily away on his navigation array announcing his current distance from the objective. “Did that slagger really have to drop me so far away?” He griped to the empty air. He took another heavy step.

  


-TWO DAYS EARLIER-

  
  


The medbay was more populated than usual. Which was especially strange considering there were only two patients currently in the doctor’s care.

 

Knock Out took in his surroundings as he worked on some non life threatening dents in a vehicon’s chassis. Breakdown had abandoned his favorite chair in favor of administering medical grade energon to the other patient - currently stasis locked -  A small gaggle of vehicons gathered around the christmas tree in the corner. Three sat on the floor playing some sort of game, and another lounged in Breakdown’s usual chair optics offlined. Atlas was reading at Knock Out’s desk, which would have bothered him if it was any other mech, but Atlas had proved to be very trustworthy with the doctor’s things, for a vehicon.

 

The population of loitering troopers seemed to be growing, It was difficult to tell for sure. Knock Out still couldn’t really tell them apart at a distance.

 

“So are you doing secret santa?” Knock Out heard one vehicon with a dented shoulder plate ask the group conversationally.

 

“Wassat?” The one in the chair asked recharge fogging up his vocalizer.

 

“It is a non-mandatory event being held aboard the nemesis,  in which each participant is randomly assigned the name of another participant. The objective is to acquire information on your assigned query and provide an appropriate gift to them.” Came the clinical explanation from the vehicon with a scratched visor.

 

“Woah, that sounds fun!” Chair-con enthused, “But where are we supposed to get gifts? What if someone gets you a way better gift than you got your guy?”

 

“I think there’s a price limit.” Shoulder Dent responded, “What with rations and all.”

 

Knock Out paused in his work, pretending to inspect the expanse of metal in front of him for imperfections. He listened intently to the conversation. Secret Santa. It seemed like an intriguing concept.

 

“I think i’ll do it.” Chair-con decided.

 

“Yeah! It’s gonna be fun!” Shoulder Dent cheered reaching out to clap a servo against Chair-Con’s own outstretched one.

 

Breakdown lumbered over to join the group, “So that’s two out of four. What about you two.”

 

“This seems to be the sort of activity that benefits from a large number of participants. As I have no aversion to the task of gift giving, I believe I will volunteer.” Scratched Visor replied

 

The silent fourth mech offered an enthusiastic thumbs up.

 

“All right! All in.” Breakdown grinned, plopping down on the floor,” Deal me in.”

 

Knock Out meanwhile had decided for sure he’d join in. If Breakdown was in on it, it could be fun! The red mech found himself pondering what kind of gift would be the best if he got Breakdown’s name. He also found his attention repeatedly dragged back to the unsightly flaws he’d been calling The vehicons by. If they were going to take up space in his med bay the least they could do is take a shred of care of themselves.

 

After the fourth time his attention was dragged away from his - admittedly complete - work Knock Out vented hard in frustration, drawing attention to himself, “You,” He demanded pointing his tool in their general direction, “With the visor. Get over here.”

 

What remained of the solar cycle was spent companionably fixing up and polishing the visitors in the medbay one by one while the others amused themselves.

 

Before settling in to recharge, Knock Out sent out a quick comm submitting his name to the Secret Santa roster.

 

\---

  


The next day about half way through the shift, a ping alerted Knock Out to an automated message. He paused for a moment, coming to a halt between the stasis patient and his desk, to access it curiously. It was a simple message entitled ‘Secret Santa’. The body text included an identification code Knock Out didn’t recognise. 573V3.

 

Inexplicably Knock Out felt disappointment sink in. He’d been so excited at the prospect of getting Breakdown’s name he failed to consider the actual odds of that happening. He felt silly at his own reaction to his supposedly tentative plans being derailed. Maybe this ‘Steve’ guy wouldn’t be so bad?

 

The doctor turned back to the tree corner. There sat five freshly polished vehicons around the new table he’d had Breakdown bring in. By the looks of them they’d all received their names too, “Hey do you guys know Steve?”

 

“Shhh!” Atlas laughed waving a hand, “You’re not supposed to tell people who you got.”

 

Knock Out scoffed, “And how am I supposed to do this if I can’t even ask about the mech?” he approached the table scanning everyone for IDCs. Maybe prettying them up was a bad idea. Now they look more similar than ever.

 

“Well from what I know Ollie knows him the best of the mechs currently present.” the miner frame previously known as Scratched Visor explained. Knock Out double checked, Tesla. Right.

 

Ollie offered a shrug, “Uhm, well he doesn’t really like a lot of stuff...”

  


\--

 

Knock Out paced the corridors of the nemesis some time later. Essentially, all he had learned was that Steve liked commander starscream - a lot -  and human movies.

 

Well what was he supposed to do with that?

 

The red mech pondered. Someone somewhere on the ship had Breakdown’s name. Which means that if Knock Out could find him, he could convince him to trade names. Yes! That was the plan.

 

Knock Out set off with renewed vigor, solid destination in mind now. He needed information. There was at least on mech on board that Knock Out knew would have the information he needed. Soundwave.

 

\---

  


Knock Out had entered the bridge room cautiously. He wasn’t too sure how the communications officer would take to having his work interrupted. But honestly, Knock Out wasn’t sure he was ever not working so now was as good as ever.

 

“Good Afternoon,” He drawled as a way of announcing himself.

 

The imposing mech turned to face the newcomer. Seeing himself reflected back in that unfeeling visor, Knock Out tried to think of him as the mech who fended off snowball attacks at his back only a few solar cycles earlier. It helped, but only a little. He was startled by his own words playing back to him, **Good afternoon.**

“Ah yes,” Sensing the unasked question, the medic decided to get down to business, “I want some information, I hear you’re a good mech to ask.”

 

There was silence for a beat, then Soundwave’s equalizer jumped to life again. He emitted Megatron’s powerful rasp **Go on…**

Right, that was good news, yes? “I want to know who was assigned Breakdown’s name in the Secret Santa event.” He eyeballed the unnerving faceless mech, not sure where to look on the visor.

 

A vibrant, friendly, salesmanlike voice Knock Out didn’t recognise filtered through this time, **It’ll cost you**

 

Knock Out huffed, “How much?”

 

the same voice **A favor for a favor.**

 

Knock Out was skeptical at best. He tried to weigh the pros and cons, considering what the other mech might ask of him. It could rightfully be anything. Something must have shown on his face because soundwave played another clip from the same voice.

 

**Come now, I don’t make offers like this every day, It’s quite a deal! What do you say?**

“What kind of favor?” Knock Out questioned.

**Ah, smart mech. It’s always good to read the fine print you know.**

 

A small datafile popped up on Knock Out’s HUD. He accessed it right away, it was a mission file. It included information on an energon signal, the area, and hazards. Overall it seemed like a safe, simple, uninteresting job. Grunt work. Really? Was this all Soundwave would ask him to do? Where was the catch? After a long moment of consideration he nodded slowly, “Fine, I go scout this signal and you give me the name of the mech who was assigned Breakdown. Deal?”

 

Soundwave nodded silently. His visor lit up with whirling images of maps and a space bridge opened beside the two mechs.

 

Knock Out double checked that he had his energon prod at his hip before stepping through the bridge.

 

\--

  


“Turns out the catch was that fragger sent me into the bog of endless flies and wetness.” Knock Out snapped. Talking to himself had become more of a habit on solo missions in the recent stellar cycles. It helped keep him on point.

 

Finally, _finally_ , he reached the signal. There was nothing particularly interesting on the surface but that was to be expected. After a few breems of poking around the area Knock out determined there was an underwater energon deposit in one of the deeper pools. Which looked conveniently just like all the other ones.

 

Soaked from helm to pedes Knock Out dragged himself out of the muck and commed for a bridge.

  
  


When he emerged from the bridge into Soundwave’s private hab suite it caught him off guard. So the mech did sleep after all!

 

Knock Out gave the room a quick sweep with his optics. It was more personal than he expected of the communications officer. There was comfortable furniture, and little objects on the walls, like images or small holoprojectors with mechs and places Knock Out did not recognise.

 

He gave his report, dripping water and plating caked everywhere with dirt, mud, dead insects and unidentifiable guk. He was so haggard it was a miracle he recognised his own reflection in the purple mech’s visor. He looked downright unpresentable.

 

Soundwave nodded his approval at the conclusion of the report logging the information into a personal consol.

 

“That’s my end of the deal What about yours?” Knock Out prompted.

 

Soundwave looked up before going back to the screen for a moment. He stepped aside and gestured for Knock Out to look.

 

Knock Out rolled his optics in exasperation but complied.

 

On the screen was a chart including two columns. One had every participant listed and the second had their assigned secret santa. The view had been zoomed in to one section and two cells highlighted.

 

Under the first column was Breakdown, directly beside him his secret santa was listed as Soundwave.

 

Knock Out looked up at Soundwave. He wanted to punch that stupid blinky festive hat right off the other mech’s head. Instead he gritted his denta, “So, You wanna trade?”

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I had some difficulties posting this so if anything looks weird please let me know so I can fix it!
> 
> For anyone who's interested -  
> Fun Fact: The 'salesman' voice was intended to be Swindle.


End file.
